Undersea Heroes Part 4: Pirana

The fourth and final installment of our "Undersea Heroes" theme week, where we take a look at Harvey Comics' Pirana, and his two sidekicks, Bara and Cuda. No, I'm not kidding!

The pool for water-based superheroes was really shallow by the time Harvey Comics, desperate to cash in on some of that superhero heat thanks to the Batman TV show, created their own line of superheroes.

Sadly, all of their heroes, few were as silly as their own version of Aquaman, the heroic adventurer known as Pirana!

First Appearance: Thrill-O-Rama #2 (1966)

Created by: Otto Binder and Jack Sparling

Powers: Can live underwater, can communicate with this two "Piranapets", Bara and Cuda.

Group Affiliation: None, though I'm sure he tried

Likes: Alone time with his Piranapets

Dislikes: Third-World dictators, rich kids who can buy and sell him

Fun Facts: Acquired his two sidekicks from a text story, in this issue, called "Meet Bara and Cuda, The Piranapets."

Sadly(?), unlike our other underwater heroes, never got his own title.

Sample panel from the above issue of Thrill-O-Rama:

...ouch--smashed in the face with a hammer! No one laughs at Generalissimo Brainstorm!

Current status: Waiting for DC Comics to buy the whole Harvey heroes line so Grant Morrison can work him into a story.

Could he beat Aquaman?: Are you kidding? This guy couldn't beat Arthur Jr.!


...and that ends our Undersea Heroes week. Like I said, this week doesn't represent every underwater superhero out there. Maybe if we do an Undersea Heroes Week 2, we'll get to other water-based characters like:

Abe Sapien

Mermaid Man

Sea Guy

Namorita

Marina

Amphibian

...plus this guy, my favorite obscure superhero, Timely's 1940s-era character The Fin:

I don't know anything about The Fin other than, judging from this cover, he looks like a lot of fun!

Undersea Heroes Part 3: Shark-Man

Part 3 of our "Undersea Heroes" theme week, where we take a look at...Shark-Man!

First Appearance: Shark-Man #1 (2006)

Created by: Michael Town, Ronald Shusett, and David Elliott

Powers: No powers, but wears a super-suit that gives the wearer the power of flight, super-strength, invulnerability, etc.

Group Affiliation: None

Likes: Making a profit, saving lives

Dislikes: Red ink

Fun Facts: In this very first issue, the man in the Shark-Man suit, Alan Gaskill, is murdered by an enemy!

Sample panel from the above issue of Shark-Man:

Even though he's clearly a hero, I find Shark-Man's choice of costume to be utterly terrifying. I'm not sure I'd want to be saved by him, if it came to that.

But...I gotta give him credit. His look is really bad-ass, and I think maybe a touch of Shark-Man in Aquaman might be a good thing, and make him less of a punchline to comics fans. (Although Shark-Man does kill his opponents, something I definitely don't want to see Arthur do)

Current status: Had two brief solo series, then returned for a third under the Image Comics imprint. I don't see the book on their current schedule, so I don't know whether it's continuing.*

Could he beat Aquaman?: That's a tough one. Even though Aquaman has superior powers, you get the feeling Sharkman would fight dirty--and mean. I see biting, you know what I mean?


Tomorrow: Pirana!



*Update: I got an email from one of Shark-Man's creators, Michael Town (who is also a member of F.O.A.M.!), telling me that he is working on some new Shark-Man material, which is good news!

He also pointed out that the super-villain She-Witch's costume is an "Aquaman-inspired wetsuit." I completely missed that, but here's Exhibit A, also courtesy Mr. Town:

...awesome! (How the heck did I miss the orange and green?) Thanks Michael!

Undersea Heroes Part 2: Undersea Agent

Part 2 of our "Undersea Heroes" theme week, where we take a look at Tower Comics' Undersea Agent!

First Appearance: Undersea Agent #1 (1966)

Created by: Samm Schwartz & Ray Bailey

Powers: Has some minor powers, mostly amplified strength, vision, endurance, etc. Has access to lots of high-tech weapons.

Group Affiliation: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents

Likes: Hanging around with trained dolphins, lots of air in his oxygen tanks

Dislikes: People that waste valuable time (see below)

Fun Facts: "Undersea" was actually an acronym: "United Nations Department of Experiment and Research Systems Established at Atlantis."

Sample panel from the above issue of Undersea Agent:

As you can see, the Undersea Agent (real name: Davy Jones--no, really) didn't bother with niceties when the chips were really down.

Some of his stories were drawn by Gil Kane (who drew the cover), who brought his trademark dynamism to the strip. The one story in this issue drawn by Kane, "To Save A Monster", is a rip-roaring adventure featuring the Undersea Agent fighting a giant sea creature, and is fast-moving fun.

Current status: Was part of the the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents revival by Deluxe Comics in 1984. Sadly, he, with the rest of the Agents, are now mired in a quagmire of copyright problems, where no one seems to be sure who owns the rights to the characters.*

Could he beat Aquaman?: No way. It might take Aquaman a minute or two to learn and adapt to all of Undersea Agent's Batman-like accessories, but eventually he'd just crack UA's helmet like a coconut and that'd be it.


Tomorrow: Sharkman!



*Update: In between writing this and posting it, DC announced at this year's SDCC that they have bought the rights to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents! So who knows, maybe we'll get to see an Aquaman/Undersea Agent team-up!

Undersea Heroes Part 1: The Sub-Mariner

Today's Part 1 of our "Undersea Heroes" theme week, where we'll take a look at The Sub-Mariner.

Picking the week's subjects was relatively arbitrary; I simply thought of the most famous of the water-based superheroes (it was a thin list, let me tell you) and gave each of them a slot. This is not intended to be a complete list of all the undersea superheroes that have ever existed; but these will be the ones most fun to talk about.

I decided to pick a random comic starring each of the heroes, and take a look at what one of their adventures read like. So, like I said, let's start with Marvel's answer to Aquaman--Namor, The Sub-Mariner!:

First Appearance: Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (1939)

Created by: Bill Everett

Powers: Flight, super-strength, communicate underwater

Group Affiliation: The Invaders, The Defenders

Likes: Being left alone, brawls, Sue Storm

Dislikes: Surface dwellers, pollution, the Hulk

Fun Facts: His first solo title, at 72 issues, ran longer than Aquaman's (63). Plus his final issue was also written by Steve Skeates!

Sample panel from the above issue of Sub-Mariner:

Since he debuted a full two years before Aquaman, one could argue Aquaman was DC's answer to the Sub-Mariner, not the other way around. Those people would be wrong.

In the Marvel Universe, Sub-Mariner is much more near the top-tier of characters, in terms of sheer power. While Aquaman is very, very strong, Namor has fought people like the Hulk, Thor, and Hercules--Aquaman's simply not in that class (which is why he had to cheat in the DC vs. Marvel mini-series).

Current status: Got a solo mini-series in 2007, is currently appearing (in flashback form) in various Marvel mini-series and issues of Captain America as a member of The Invaders.

Could he beat Aquaman?: Possibly. As I've said above, Aquaman's strength is simply no match for Namor's, but since Aquaman has taken some hits in his life (pretty much every day since around 1977), he has learned to use all his wits and abilities. Namor, used to getting his own way and being very sure of himself, can get way too cocky.

After all, in their first--and so far only--encounter, in DC vs. Marvel, Arthur actually beat Namor, thanks to his finny friends.


Tomorrow: Undersea Agent!

AquaSketch by Jay Piscopo - 2009

I've posted two previous Aquaman sketches from writer/artist Jay Piscopo, who I met at an appearance at my LCS, All Things Fun. Jay is the creator of The Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli, a fun all-ages comic, and a big Aquaman fan.

This third one was the result of when I asked Jay if he could do a piece featuring Aquaman and his undersea character, Sea Ghost. I casually asked Jay about it one day and then just a week or so this beauty was waiting for me in my in-box. What a pal!

Anyway, the reason it took me soooo long to post this is that I wanted it to be the kick-off to a theme week, which I'm calling "Undersea Heroes."

I've been asked many times before if I'm fan of other water-based like characters like Sub-Mariner, and the answer is no, not particularly--there's something special about Aquaman that makes me such an obsessive fan, and its not just powers and setting. So I never did feel any special interest in any of the other comic companies version of an aquatic hero.

But I thought it'd be fun to give some of them a little attention here on the Shrine, so starting tomorrow we'll take a look at Marvel's undersea prince, Namor, the Sub-Mariner!

Super Friends #11 - May 1978

Comics Weekend "Kingslayer" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ramona Fradon, and Bob Smith.

Ah, now we're getting somewhere! The art chores have been taken over by the incomparable Ramona Fradon, perfectly complimented by inker Bob Smith.

This issue opens with an unusual image for a Super Friends story:

I like a villain who knows how to specialize. So many of them try to become world conquerors, but this guy does one thing--political assassinations--and he does them well.

Kingslayer is hired by Overlord (who is mocked--to his face--by Kingslayer, a nice touch by Bridwell) to kill one of the Heads of State that will be at the U.N. Conference the next day.

Steve Trevor (remember him?), working for the S.O.S., picks up a tip about the plot, and reports it to Diana Prince. Since they don't know which head of state is the target, the Super Friends must split up to protect each of them:

Wonder Woman, assigned to protect Queen Astrid ("ruler of a small European kingdom"), stops a series of missiles fired at the queen's plane, with the help of her magic lasso.

Batman saves the life of Prince Ali of Kaliph, who is also the victim of an assassination attempt. The same things happens to the people assigned protection from Robin and the Wonder Twins.

Meanwhile, Aquaman has a slightly more easy-going assignment, since his charge is his old friend Vulko. But there's still trouble:

The bottle, when opened by Prince Mark of Sedonia, explodes, seemingly killing him! Superman has failed...or has he?

It turns out Supes was one step ahead of the would-be assassin, trading outfits with the Prince, so when the explosion happened, it was the Man of Steel who took the brunt of the blast.

Prince Mark, tucked away in the next room, is okay, but the Super Friends decide to announce to the papers that Prince Mark has been killed. Kingslayer is only one for six, but he's happy, since it leaves him free to do his "real assignment, which no one even suspects!"

The Super Friends meet up afterwards, and they are suspicious that whoever is trying to assassinate all these people didn't even bother to stick around to see whether they were successful. Also, who was that anonymous tipster?

That leads them to think the real target has yet to be learned, so they head to the U.N., where they discover a whole series of death traps, rigged to go off as soon as all the dignitaries took their place in the general assembly!

The Super Friends destroy the death traps, so the Kingslayer, accompanied by armed henchmen, is there to make sure his plans go through:

I love Robin's final line: "Let's do it--and worry about the legalities later!"

As far as I know, Kingslayer was never seen again. If Robin had his way, he's probably still down at Gitmo somewhere.


As fine an issue as this is, it also came with a delightful little bonus: a four-page insert which was a mail-in survey from DC Comics, trying to find out more about its readers:

And while the chance to win a free gift is gone, I strongly suggest each one of us print out the survey and mail it to DC anyway (you can download printable versions of the survey by clicking each page). I think they'd like the information, even if it is 32 years late.

(Oh, and by the way, I love this last question:

...the answer is #3!)

Super Friends #2 - Dec. 1976

Comics Weekend "Trapped By the Super Foes" by E. Nelson Bridwell, Ric Estrada, and Vince Colletta.

After all the death, blood, and misery from last week's Comics Weekend, I thought we'd switch it up again and talk about something far more cheerful: The Super Friends!

This issue picks up the continued story in the title's first issue (which I profiled back in 2007), where the Super Friends not only have to take on a group of their own individual super-villains, but the junior partners of those villains!:

...notice that Aquaman isn't wearing his green gloves? It'll get worse!

Anyway, two of the junior super-foes, Kitten and Chick (the proteges of the Cheetah and the Penguin, respectively), have been captured by Wendy and Marvin, and are holed up in the Hall of Justice.

Turns out, though, this was Chick's plan, and thanks to a homing device in his umbrella, he signaled the Super Foes to come to the Hall of Justice, and then they trick Marvin into opening their HQ's security door, allowing the villains to get inside!

Wonder Dog, being the smartest of the three junior Super Friends, sneaks away, and manages to make his way into the JLA Teleportation Tube, beaming himself up to the JLA Satellite, where he meets another superhero:

(See? Again with the no gloves!)

Anyway, Superman uses Krypto to communicate with Wonder Dog, so Krypto can "translate" for his master, Superman!

While this insane idea plays out, we see the Super-Foes tie Wendy and Marvin to some giant balloons, sending them into the sky. Then the Toyman will send his toy hummingbirds out to pop the balloons, sending the Junior Super Friends plummeting to their deaths. The Junior Super-Foes are uncertain about going this far: its one thing to steal money, but...murder?

Luckily for Wendy and Marvin, the Super Friends arrive to save Wendy and Marvin, but the Super-Foes sneak away before they can be captured.

Suddenly, the Super Friends Troubalert starts going off like crazy, all over the world, causing them to have to split off to take care of all the crises. Its here Aquaman--still sans gloves--finally gets something to do:

Batman and Robin go after the Penguin and the Toyman, but with the help of their sidekicks, the villains manage to knock Batman and Robin out.

When the Penguin and Toyman plan to "finish off" the two, the Junior Super-Foes revolt. Then Wendy and Marvin show up (they tagged along in the Batmobile), and convince all the youngsters to never trust a villain over thirty, and rebel against their mentors, which they do.

Penguin manages to start up the giant robot he'd been building, but its not much of a match for Superman, who has also just arrived:

I love how relaxed Aquaman looks, sitting up there. At least he's got his gloves on this time.

Luckily for us Aqua-Fans, the Sea King's meager presence in the Super Friends' initial storyline would not be the norm, and he'd get a lot more to do as E. Nelson Bridwell continued writing the book.


I mentioned in my post about the first issue how shocked I was at the costume of Poison Ivy's sidekick Honeysuckle, which was so skimpy I couldn't believe it passed muster at the Comics Code, especially in what was supposed to be a book for very young kids.

Honeysuckle makes a very brief appearance in this issue--only a handful of panels--but she is in her full glory on page two:

I like the body language between Cheetah and Kitten on the right. I can almost hear the Cheetah say: "No sidekick of mine is going to dress like that! You'll wear a top-to-bottom bodysuit and you'll like it! Mrrrrowrrr!"

Mego Carrying Case - 1974

I can't believe I've never gotten around to this before now!

This is a Mego World's Greatest Super-Heroes carrying case, pic sent to me by our newest F.O.A.M. member Anna Scherer.

The case was designed to carry the line's first four figures, Superman, Batman, Robin, and Aquaman. Apparently the case shown in the above photo was hit by a train, traveling at a fairly good clip.

Here's another pic of the case, from the super-awesome Mego Museum:

Apparently, almost every example of the case you'll find nowadays will have that big glue stain, right there over Aquaman. The Sea King can never catch a break.

Anna tells me she "has a pretty good Aquaman collection going and would love to be a member."

Email and ye shall receive Anna, and welcome to F.O.A.M.!

Australian Happy Meal Box - 2003

This is a Happy Meals box that hails all the way from Australia, courtesy our newest F.O.A.M. member Jay Hernandez.

Jay tells me that for this promotion, only three figures were produced--Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Penguin. Huh? (They also made a Batmobile, but no Batman. Double Huh?)

Knowing that, it was nice of them include Aquaman (and some of his fellow heroes) on the box puzzle, using a fine stock art pose by (I think) the underrated Tom Grummett.

Thanks Jay, and welcome to F.O.A.M.!

1985 San Diego Comic Con Program

With the 2009 San Diego Comic Con about to start, I thought today was a great time to post this DC-centric cover to the 1995 con, featuring many of the company's biggest stars (plus a few favorites of the past!).

If you look close, you can see Aquaman hanging out alongside Blue Devil and Swamp Thing:

I can't quite place the art style, although the giant Darkseid head looks like Keith Giffen's work to me.

But since the rest of the piece doesn't look like his stuff, I'm betting whoever did draw this used a shot of the character by Giffen as a guide, the way Starfire looks like the classic George Perez pose. Sadly, we don't have a bigger version of this beauty to be able to do a closer inspection.

Thanks to F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer for the tip!

Guest Post by Rascal

Welcome to the Aquaman Shrine's first-ever guest post!

I had been wanting to do something like this for a while (Great Neptune, how many times have I said that?), but it wasn't until my pal and F.O.A.M. member Shag Matthews posted the first of a series of commentaries by his step-son, "Rascal", that I knew who was the first person I would ask to do an Aquaman Shrine Guest Post.

When Shag had him write his first guest-shot, Rascal chose, out of all the possible subjects and characters, to talk about Aquaman, which you can read here.

Rascal's blunt statements regarding Aquaman charmed me to no end, so I asked Shag if Rascal would like to write something for the Shrine. Not only did Rascal say yes, but he also whipped up some accompanying drawings--enjoy!

Aquaman's Better Than You Think
by the Rambunctious Rascal (age 9 ½)

Aquaman's a pretty cool guy because he's got some pretty good powers. Like he can talk to underwater animals. See if you can do that. Betcha can't.

I like him on Batman Brave and the Bold. Except he's a showoff himself. I'm sorry Peter David but they are trying to make a fool out of your guy.

I would really like to see another one of Aquaman's comics. I'd like to have one of his comics myself. Wouldn't it be neat if I were in one? You know what I would do? I would kick Black Manta's little tail-hole across the Pacific. And then if Mysterio came into the picture, I'd pull that little goldfish bowl off his head. What do you expect, a guy in tights, with eyes for a cape holder, and a purple cape, with a fishbowl for a helmet. You gotta say that Mysterio's pretty stupid. And if Aquaman ran into Mysterio, I think he could do better. He could summon some sharks to eat Mysterio's legs off and arms. And then he could punch him with his super-strength.

If I were King of Atlantis, I would make them clean up all the garbage in the ocean and then come up to the surface and then kick the garbage companies butts. If you were King of Atlantis, what would you do? If you would like to tell me, then just write a comment.

Well thanks for coming on to this awesome web site.

"They run in fear, because of his power...Aquaman."

Well said, Rascal, and thanks for filling in for me today on the Aquaman Shrine!

Aquaman The Movie, For Reals?

In an amazing coincidence (considering today's original post and the contest), I was just sent this link fromThe HollywoodReporter.com, featuring an article about DC Comic book movies.

And on page 2, we have this:

"The studio is taking pitches on sci-fi hero Adam Strange and the underwater-breathing hero "Aquaman," to be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way shingle."

An Aquaman movie, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio? Even though its highly doubtful DiCaprio would play the Sea King (and personally, I wouldn't want him to anyway), having such a Hollywood heavyweight behind the project would make it more likely to happen, than, say, if just DC was pushing it.

This link was sent to me by our newest F.O.A.M. member, Nick Karr, who in his email said: "I have been looking for something to submit for days to get into FOAM. My friends make fun of me for loving Aquaman but I've loved him since I was a kid."

Well, look no more Nick, and the next time one of your friends makes fun of you for liking Aquaman, shove the F.O.A.M. certificate in their face!

The Aquaman Casting Call Contest

Welcome to the Aquaman Casting Call Contest!

Last week, the Shrine (read: me) was contacted by Simon & Schuster about a new hardcover book they have out, called The Wolverine Files, written by long time comics scribe Mike W. Barr, all about everyone's favorite adamantium-festooned mutant.

They asked if the Shrine wanted to do some sort of contest to give away a copy or two of the book, which sounded great to me, but...what, if any, connection was there between Aquaman and Wolverine, other than at one time they both had the ability to poke people's eyes out?

That's when it occurred to me that if Arthur and Logan ever crossed over, at all, it would've been in the pages of the DC vs. Marvel mini-series. Not owning that series, I asked you, devoted Aqua-Fans, to provide me with any shots that might feature the two of them together.

Of course, a bunch of you stepped up to the plate and sent me the relevant pages, two of which you see above. You guys are the greatest!

With that tenuous connection established, I thought, what contest could I come up with that would be fun for people to enter that, again, could connect Aquaman and Wolverine?

Then I thought, hey, X-Men Origins: Wolverine just came out over the summer, so why not ask people to cast the sure-to-never-be-made-outside-of-Entourage Aquaman movie?

So that's the contest--email the Shrine your dream cast of the Aquaman movie. But you can't just cast the Sea King--you have to list your choices for the following characters:

Aquaman
Mera
Aquagirl (Lorena version)
Black Manta
Ocean Master
Tom Curry (Aquaman's lighthouse keeper father, classic origin version)

(Possible Tie-Breaker/Extra Point question: Who should direct the movie?)

...you can either just send your list of names, although reasons why you think these are the best possible choices are more fun! And, if you are casting relatively unknown people, links to pictures of them on the web/their imdb profiles would be extremely helpful.

We have *five* copies of The Wolverine Files to give out, so the entries with the five most interesting (as judged by me) lists will be the winners. And of those five, the one I think is the best of the best will also win an as-yet-undetermined Aquaman prize, to boot!

Entries must be submitted via e-mail and by 10:00pm, Sunday, August 9th. The only rule as to who you can cast is the actors and actresses must be living--none of this "Errol Flynn as Aquaman" stuff. (You can submit multiple lists, but I can't imagine anyone doing so!)

So that's it--I look forward to everyone's thoughts as to who would--nay, should--star in Aquaman: The Movie!


For more info on The Wolverine Files, you can click here!

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